


Sealed with a kiss

by everwitch



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: And learning some things about each other (and Henry) in the process, And talking about Henry, Coming Out, Flirting, Getting Together, Henry's polo teammates crushing on each other, Kissing, M/M, Romance, Sports, Todd & Nick geddit?, it's their shipname, not a lot of it though, polo, right I'll see myself out, sort of in that order, this ship makes me Tick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29416200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everwitch/pseuds/everwitch
Summary: When The Waterloo Letters hit the internet, two polo players wake up to the startling news that their friend and teammate Henry is in fact gay and sleeping with America's sweetheart. Or it would've been startling, if Todd wasn't so well aware on a very personal level of Henry's attraction to men. Still, Nick's got to be surprised, right? There's no way Nick already knows. And given the fact that Todd has something of a massive, embarrassing crush on Nick, this might be a neat opportunity to figure out if Nick is even interested in guys.Still, shouldn't Nick look alittlemore surprised to learn that Henry is gay? Or, you know. Surprised at all?
Relationships: Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Original Male Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 22
Kudos: 74





	Sealed with a kiss

**Author's Note:**

> many many thanks to [floatingaway4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4) for beta reading and cheerleading, as well as to the whole rwrb discord server for enabling this!! ♡♡♡

When Nick finally blinks the sleep out of his eyes, Todd has already been staring at his phone for more than ten minutes.

"Time's it?" Nick mumbles. "You really had to set an eight a.m. alarm on a bloody Sunday, huh?"

"Nick. Something's happened."

"You got that right. Why're you awake? Why am _I_ awake? Polo practice isn't until this afternoon."

"Nick, listen, there's actually—"

"You're pretty lucky I like you," Nick adds gruffly, successfully distracting Todd momentarily. There it is again, a toe over that line they've been dancing around for months now, another casual comment that could mean so much more. _I like you._ How much? Just as friends, or...? "It's not like I'd ever let you stay the night again if I didn't. Seriously, man, who sets a bloody _eight a.m. alarm_ on a—"

"Nicolas," Todd cuts in. He sits up fully on the air mattress that's been his accommodation for the night and turns his phone around so Nick can see the screen. "You've got to read this, okay? It's about Henry."

Nick frowns slightly. "Polo Henry?"

That makes Todd smile briefly. It's been a long time since he's thought of Henry merely as polo Henry, and even longer since he's mentally referred to him as Prince Henry. The latter must've been back when they were all still at Eton? Anyhow, ever since the stolen moment Todd had shared with Henry behind the stables almost exactly two years ago, Todd hasn't been able to think of the man as anything other than just Henry.

"Do we know any other Henry?" Todd remarks in response to Nick's question. He pushes his phone into Nick's hands, his heartbeat quickening. "Just read it, Nick. It's a big deal."

He watches closely as Nick skims the article. The two of them haven't really ever talked about… anything queer, actually. Certainly not about the little known fact that Todd is remarkably gay. And while Todd doesn't _think_ that Nick is some sort of closeted homophobe, you don't actually know these things until you know.

Nick's expression shifts through a series of distinct emotions as he processes the actual story between the lines of the garbage that the Daily Mail has composed. It's really quite mesmerizing to watch—Nick's eyes flash with curiosity, then pity, except his smile is fond, but then it soon sets into a hard, angry line, his brows furrowed. It's one of the things that first made Todd so aware of Nick, back when Nick had joined their polo team. The boy was so full of empathy and emotion, he couldn't ever seem to contain it all. It often spilled over. Nick's enthusiasm has always been contagious, his smiles warm and inviting and his eyes bright green and so pretty. Before Todd had quite realized it was happening, he'd been so, so gone.

"I can't… I feel kind of bad, reading this." Nick's voice is unusually serious. He's averted his eyes away from Todd's phone, instead choosing to stare up at the ceiling. "All those emails… That's such an invasion of their privacy. I hope Henry's holding up okay."

"Yeah," Todd agrees quickly. "It's all really… I mean, I don't want to read the actual emails. I couldn't do that to Henry."

"I can't even imagine what they're going through right now." Nick hands Todd his phone back. Their fingers brush, just briefly. "There were pictures of Henry with Alex Claremont-Diaz after our match in Greenwich. D'you remember that?"

"I do, yeah." It was one of the first thoughts that had crossed Todd's mind after he'd read the headline. "That was ages ago, though. I can't imagine that the two of them have been able to keep something like this a secret for that long. They must be under so much scrutiny."

For some reason, that makes Nick smile.

"I'm pretty sure Henry wouldn't hook up with a celebrity at a polo match full of rabid reporters. He's definitely more careful than that."

Todd doesn't answer him immediately. He feels a bit confused—there's definitely something he's missing. Why does Nick have an opinion on how Henry might be navigating clandestine hookups? And, come to think of it, doesn't Nick seem decidedly… unsurprised by this whole thing? Almost like he was already well aware of some part of it?

Wait. _Wait._

"Oh my God," Todd blurts out. "You two totally hooked up!"

"What?" Nick exclaims. He sounds horrified. And for one brief, agonizing moment, Todd feels paralyzed with fear. He's been so afraid to find out if Nick will have this precise reaction to the idea of same-sex attraction. "No, you've got to believe me, it wasn't like that at all, we didn't… It was _one_ kiss, okay? Just the one. And it was years ago, we were basically kids. I was only thirteen. You can't well call it hooking up."

Slowly, Todd makes himself take a deep breath. Holy _shit._ This could change absolutely everything.

"That's… I didn't mean to make you tell me that," he says gently. "I'm so sorry if you felt pressured, just now."

"No, it's fine," Nick is quick to assure him. He sounds unusually determined. "I've honestly been wanting to tell you. Not about Henry, but about me. That I'm bi. Bisexual."

"That's cool," Todd offers. He makes a valiant effort to reel in his excited grin. Nick is actually, miraculously into guys? Wow. "I guess you've known a long time? If you were kissing royalty at thirteen, I mean."

That makes Nick smile bashfully. The look in his eyes is weirdly soft. "Henry was actually far from the first boy I kissed. You could say that I was… busy, back then. I was kind of taking every chance I got to explore that side of me. I've reeled myself in a little more, since."

God, Todd wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him more than ever before, which is actually really saying something. Why in the world didn't he befriend Nick years ago, back when Nick had apparently gone around kissing boys at every possible opportunity?

"Henry was sweet," Nick adds. His smile has tugged into something more of a grin. Something a little more confident. "And he said… I'm not sure if he was covering for someone else, but he said that I was his first. His first kiss. Although I can't believe he was lacking potential boys to make out with, you know? He was so handsome, even then. If you're into tall, pretty blondes, but I mean… Who isn't?"

Todd opens and closes his mouth. His mind spins. Todd is fairly tall—taller than Nick, anyhow—and he's definitely blonde. Does Nick think he's pretty? Is that why he's smiling like that? Or is Nick still thinking about Henry?

"How can you even tell me all of this?" Todd blurts out, if only to prevent himself from saying something stupid. Something irreversible. "Didn't you have to sign one of those legal things?" Nick frowns, clearly confused, so Todd quickly elaborates. "An NDA? A non-disclosure."

That only makes Nick's frown deepen. "Not that I'm aware. I doubt that Henry ever let anyone in his staff know about our kiss. Besides, I can't imagine that Henry actually pulls out paperwork after every romantic entanglement? That sounds so... clinical."

"No, he absolutely does," Todd says, before he can think to stop himself.

Nick stares at him. Oh, shit. Shit and bollocks and _shit._ Then, after a moment of very strained silence, Nick starts to grin.

"Oh my _God._ When? How far did you go? You've got to tell me everything!"

"I don't, actually," Todd says shakily. He's never imagined this conversation going quite like this. "I did sign the dotted line and all, so I'm sort of legally required to not tell you."

"That's weirdly sexy," Nick says, still grinning. Bloody hell, Todd is going to fucking _die._ "I'm sorry, should we back up a few steps? Would you like to come out to me more formally?"

"I'm… I'm fine." Todd attempts a shrug. It's mostly true, isn't it? His heart is beating like crazy and he can't seem to take his eyes away from Nick's lips, but other than that, he's just bloody super. "I'm also pretty gay. So, that's that."

"Great," Nick says. He sounds like he really means it. And maybe not just in a very-supportive-friend kind of way? "I still wish you could give me all the details about your thing with Henry, but I do get why you can't. I'm all for respecting his privacy."

"It wasn't a _thing,_ really." Todd thinks he can safely divulge that much. He's just telling Nick what didn't happen, isn't he? "And it was several years ago. Long before Henry started up an apparently passionate correspondence with a certain American, and definitely before… before you and I got closer."

Todd swallows. He hadn't meant to say quite so much. Still, he doesn't actually regret putting it out there—especially not when Nick offers him a smile that's so damn blinding, Todd's heart aches.

"Yeah?" Nick says. God, he sounds breathless. He sounds _hopeful._ "Todd. Tell me more about… about what didn't happen with Henry?"

Todd only hesitates for a moment. Then he reaches out and carefully takes Nick's hand in his.

"This did happen," he confesses in a quiet murmur. He tugs gently on Nick's hand, pulling him closer until they're face to face with Nick leaning over the side of his bed. It feels ridiculous and scary and so, so right. "This, though… This is something I haven't done, ever before."

He bravely closes the distance between them, pressing his lips against Nick's throat, dipping his tongue out and teasing at the skin with his teeth. Nick's breath hitches and a low sound escapes his throat. His grip on Todd's hand tightens. Todd really doesn't know what he's doing, but he damn well knows what he's trying to accomplish and judging by the breathless sounds that Nick can't quite seem to hold back, he must be at least sort of on the right track. It's a little backwards, maybe—should he have kissed Nick first? Is this going too fast? But when Todd pulls back to admire the pretty, red mark that he's managed to leave on Nick's skin, and sees the enraptured look in Nick's beautiful green eyes, he can't say that he feels any regret.

"D'you mind," Todd says before Nick can get a word in, "If we do something that did happen between me and Henry? I promise you I won't be thinking of him. Not even a little. He's not the guy I've had a massive crush on for months and months."

Nick smiles towards him again. It's softer than before but still so full of warmth and something… something like fondness, but deeper and much more dizzying. Nick reaches out a hand and runs his fingers lightly through Todd's hair. "Todd, I… Yes. Yes to everything. I want you so much, in any and every way you'll have me. Please."

The way Nick's voice trembles towards the end is almost too much—it's _all_ almost too much. When Todd leans in again, he moves slowly, determined to commit every second of this to memory. He's been waiting and wanting for so long. He wants to savour every moment.

Nick smiles into the kiss, his hands entangled in Todd's hair. It's everything. It's all Todd has hoped for and more.

That same afternoon, the two of them are very, very late to polo practice. It is absolutely, completely worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> this thought popped into my head and I... had to write it? I love the rwrb discord server, it's very much a place where things like this spring into existence and grow!
> 
> come talk to me about my recent obsession with OCs on [tumblr](https://everwitch-magiks.tumblr.com/)!! ♡♡♡


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